Carlton: A year into Big 12 tenure, Bob Bowlsby has seen conference stabilize, but won't rest on his laurels

Moving trucks were
parked outside of Bob Bowlsby’s home Friday, usually not a good sign for a Big
12 commissioner.

In this case, the image was about stability
for Bowlsby and the conference he oversees. One year following his hire by the
Big 12, the last bit of furniture arrived at the Bowlsby household. After
inheriting a large to-do list, Bowlsby now has a chance to set the course for
the conference.

“It’s been a little bit of whirlwind,” Bowlsby
said. “Mostly my agenda has been imposed on me.”

The basic framework of 13-year TV deals with
Fox and ESPN that provided the conference a lifeline had to be put together.
Site selection and TV agreements for the Champions Bowl partnership with the
SEC remained. For nearly the full year, realignment truth and rumors were part
of the landscape.

“I’m glad we stayed where we were,” Bowlsby
said.

With 10 schools and given the conference’s
recent revolving door history (four departures, two additions since June 2010),
Bowlsby remains focused on the national landscape even with current members
locked in place for more than a decade by a granting of TV rights.

“I don’t think it can be ever far from our
consciousness,” Bowlsby said. “There may be opportunities for us. There may be
those who are coveting our members. That doesn’t sound like a very trusting
statement. We’re wise to be vigilant.”

If there is any doubt left, Bowlsby doesn’t
see the Big 12 moving beyond 10 teams.

“I don’t see anything on the horizon that can
change it right now,” Bowlsby said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t something on
the horizon at some point.”

One example: If technology changes as much in
the next five years, Bowlsby said, as it has in the last five years, the Big 12
may be marketing its rights differently. Bowlsby, a former Stanford athletic
director with plenty of Silicon Valley phone
numbers, wondered what would happen if Google decides to become a major player
in sports?

For the moment, Bowlsby’s priorities involve
partnerships:

The Big 12 is continuing talks with the
Atlantic Coast Conference about a likely football scheduling alliance,
including neutral-site games.

“I think there’s a reasonably good chance we
will,” Bowlsby said. “I’d like to do it as soon as we can possibly can. Within
two or three years, we can have some format of games between the two leagues.”

Bowlsby said the Big 12 and the Pac-12 are
talking about a partnership in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl much like the
Champions Bowl concept with the SEC that became the Sugar Bowl.

“We’re looking at a modified Sugar Bowl model
where we will be part of the operation of the bowl, instead of an invited
guest,” Bowlsby said.

“Given the financial realities, this could be
a very advantageous partnership for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl,” he said.

Truth be told, Bowlsby has always felt more
comfortable working with conferences, not staging raids. In the conference
realignment scenarios discussed, it was hard to see the Big 12 as an aggressor,
he said.

When many fans thought the conference should
be targeting schools such as Florida
State earlier this year,
Bowlsby and the Big 12 legal team gave guidance to the ACC in crafting a
granting of rights that stabilized that league.

“I was conflicted. I continue to be
conflicted,” Bowlsby said. “I think a lot of what has happened for the last
three or four years has not reflected well on the integrity overall of higher
education and intercollegiate athletics. I’ll do everything I can to not be a
part of that.”

No one inside the Big 12 is complaining, at
least publicly.

One reason: By the time the College Football
Playoff and Sugar Bowl contracts begin in 2014, Bowlsby estimates the Big 12
will be distributing $30 million per member annually.

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